Oct 30, 2013

Group Delivers Much Needed Supplies to Orphanage in Nicaragua

Three authorized Bridgewater Candle Company dealers selected by Bridgewater Candle Company, a candle and home fragrance manufacturer based in Spartanburg, SC, completed a special brand experience orphanage service project this month in Nicaragua.

Bridgewater Candle Company awarded the opportunity to go on the all expense paid brand experience to three authorized dealers out of thousands. Through a nomination process three dealers were selected from various parts of the country.

The dealers awarded the opportunity to go include: K Bella located in Collingswood, NJ; Hallettsville Pharmacy located in Hallettsville, TX and Grace 251 located in Dalton, GA. The dealers along with several Grace Direct sales representatives traveled to Spartanburg, SC on October 10th, 2013 to meet with the Bridgewater Candle Company family and tour the manufacturing facility. On October 11th, 2013 the group traveled to Nicaragua and spent time delivering supplies to an impoverished community on the outskirts of a trash dump in Managua. The group then continued on to the orphanage and spent time getting to know the kids and completed a service project. The group returned on October 14th, 2013.

The dealers along with Bridgewater Candle Company employees collected items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste to donate. Several dealers held donation drives with discount incentives to get customers involved in the process.

Led by Johnny Ramantanin, director of operations at Rice Bowls, the group visited with an American couple, Tim and Chris Bagwell that run New Life Nicaragua in Managua. They were able to walk through a barrio, which is a neighborhood built near the city landfill of Tipitapa. To the estimated 10,000 people that call this home, digging through trash to find food, clothing and scraps of things to sell is a daily practice. The Bagwells run a discipleship program in the landfill giving children a place to go and be loved and fed.

The team was then taken to New Life Orphanage also ran by the Bagwells and supported by Rice Bowls. This home houses young children and babies that have suffered abuse and malnourishment. The children in this home are cared for around the clock by dedicated caregivers. The team completed a service project of sorting through and organizing donated clothing for the new clothing bank.

A third outing included a visit to a girls home for abused girls. Most were 15 and under with some as young as 11 already having babies of their own. The group shelled out hugs and lots of love spending time playing games and painting fingernails.

Established in 1998, Bridgewater Candle Company became a leader in the candle market with a reputation for its clean burning candles, full fragranced products and passionate sales team. Bridgewater offers everyday hospitality through fun, friendly, comfort fragrances. From fresh and clean to warm and cozy, these scents create and crystallize those special moments in life worth savoring.

Bridgewater Candle Company is committed to sharing its blessings, warmth and hospitality with the rest of the world through its Light a Candle Feed a Child program. In 2010, Bridgewater partnered with Rice Bowls, a non-profit whose mission is to feed and nurture orphans worldwide. For every jar candle sold, Bridgewater makes a donation to feed a child for a day.

Through the Light a Candle Feed a Child program, Bridgewater hopes to raise awareness for the global orphan crisis as well as help to fight hunger of orphaned children around the world. As the orphan population grows into the hundred millions and more children die from malnutrition every day, the owners of Bridgewater Candle Company wanted to find a way to educate people about the crisis.

With the support of its authorized dealers, Bridgewater has been able to provide funds for over 3 million meals for orphaned children since the program began in June 2010.

Started in 1980, Rice Bowls is a 501c 3 non-profit organization based in Spartanburg, SC. Rice Bowls works to fill plastic bowl coin banks with change. The change is used to provide food for 52 grassroots orphanage partners around the world.

The Bridgewater brand experience trip to Nicaragua gave dealers the opportunity to get to know the children at the orphanages they help to support. They were able to work alongside Rice Bowls employees and see first-hand how the Light a Candle Feed a Child program is changing the lives of children around the world.

“The experience allowed me to see what children are going through outside of my own world,” said Katie Duffield, K Bella’s co-owner. “It gave me the chance to soak it in and allowed me to do something about it.”

“Our mission at Grace 251 is to make an impact on each person who walks in the store,” said Susan Brown, Grace 251’s owner. “Everything in our store points to Christ. One of our goals is to give back globally and locally, and that is why I was originally drawn to Bridgewater Candle Company.”

“God orchestrated so much ahead of time for this trip,” said Brown. “He has blown me away already with everything he has revealed, and I know there are big things in store.”

The annual brand experience trips have become a favorite Bridgewater Candle Company President, Bob Caldwell, Jr. He shares that over and over again he sees members of the group making a special bond or attachment with one of the children. Upon returning home, the person selling the candles in their store or the employee returning to make the candles on the line now does it for the child they shared that special bond with making their jobs a little sweeter.

To learn more about Bridgewater Candle Company, visit www.bridgewatercandles.com

Bridgewater Candle Company Established in 1998 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Bridgewater Candle Company quickly became a leader in the candle market with a reputation for its clean burning candles, full fragranced products and passionate sales team. From fresh and clean to warm and cozy, Bridgewater Candle Company’s fragrances capture special moments in life worth savoring.

We are committed to sharing this warmth and hospitality with the world through our Light a Candle • Feed a Child™ program. Bridgewater donates a portion of each jar candle sale to Rice Bowls™, a non-profit whose mission is to feed orphaned children worldwide.

In the fall of 2011, Bridgewater employees, along with four Authorized Dealers, visited an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti supported by Rice Bowls. The annual tradition continued in 2012, when Bridgewater invited four Authorized Dealers to go to Honduras to another Rice Bowls supported orphanage. Seeing the impact Light a Candle • Feed a Child is having on these sweet children first hand is truly an unforgettable blessing. Join us in experiencing the difference a jar candle can make.